Creighton runs for King County Council

Seattle Port Commissioner John Creighton announced Wednesday he will run for the King County Council seat currently held by Councilwoman Jane Hague.

Creighton, a two-term port commissioner, wants to lower the number of King County Council members from nine to seven and reduce the pay of council member “to under six figures.”

“I know when compared to the overall county budget, the council reforms are small,” he said. “However, we need to create a culture of efficient delivery of government to services throughout the organization, and that needs to start at the top.”

The King County Council is now elected on a non-partisan basis, the result of an initiative passed by the voters in 2008. Hague won re-election in 2007 as a Republican.

Hague and Creighton are both politicians with baggage, but good luck.

In July of 2007, after candidate filing was closed, Hague was charged with driving under the influence. The arresting officer reported that she “became irate and used expletives,” and blamed her husband who was in the passenger seat.

The episode took place after the filing deadline, and Hague won re-election against a perennial candidate.

Creighton was accused of harassment in 2009 by a former girlfriend who took out a restraining order against him, conduct for which the port commissioner later voiced regret.

By the time Publicola broke the story, Creighton was coasting to re-election unopposed.

Creighton is also viewed with suspicion by Democrats for past support of Republican candidates. Most recently, he endorsed GOP State Sen. Joe Fain in his successful bid to unseat Democratic Sen. Claudia Kauffman.

Creighton, in his announcement, was critical of the delay in funding a new South Park Bridge. The existing 75-year-old bridge was closed last year: The final piece of replacement funding — a TIGER grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation — was announced in October by Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash.

“Our regional governments get too mired in process and delay,” said Creighton. “A good example of this is the South Park Bridge project. The bridge will now be closed for three years because regional government couldn’t act and get a proposal in place.”